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Woman breaks into jail, gets her wish to be arrested

Monique Deshawn Armstrong, on the other hand, apparently wanted to be in custody — and went to extreme measures early Monday morning to see to it that she was locked up.

The bizarre incident that culminated in the arrest of the 20-year-old Grand Junction woman began around 4 a.m. when a woman, later identified as Armstrong, called 911 dispatchers and told them she was en route to the Mesa County Jail to demand that she be booked into the jail and her brother be released from custody, according to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.

Patrol deputies located an abandoned vehicle between the Mesa County Justice Center and the jail about the same time a jail perimeter alarm activated. They found Armstrong inside the chain-link fence and razor wire that surrounds the jail.

While inside the jail yard, Armstrong broke a jail pod window and asked deputies again to arrest her and book her into the jail. They obliged.

Benjamin said deputies believe she threw several landscaping rocks inside the yard at the window until the window broke.

“They’re shatterproof-type windows,” she said. “It didn’t break out. There was no air coming through or anything like that. There were no safety or security issues with inmates in that pod.”

Benjamin said Armstrong’s brother, 18-year-old Michael Armstrong, wasn’t housed in the pod in which the window was broken.

Monique Armstrong was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass, criminal mischief and violating bail-bond conditions. The last charge stemmed from her March 22 arrest on suspicion of theft and first-degree criminal trespass, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Michael Armstrong was arrested by Grand Junction police Sunday night on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, driving the wrong way and possession of drug paraphernalia. He posted bond and was released from jail at 8:50 a.m. Monday — less than five hours after his sister reportedly demanded his release, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

“If she maybe had given it a few hours, she probably could have met him at the front door,” Benjamin said.